News On The Horizon 11/30/2020

Horizon League Power Rankings – Week 1--HoriZone Roundtable
Midweek Big Ten Basketball Previews: Hey look, it’s Michigan State-Duke! (But Illinois-Baylor will be better...)--Off Tackle Empire

Tuesday, December 1

Purdue Boilermakers vs. Oakland Golden Grizzlies

2pm | BTN

Here’s a pro tip, Boilers: Don’t chuck contested threes and allow Jalen Moore to try and single-handedly win this game.

But seriously, if you thought the Golden Grizz struggled with Hunter Dickinson, you should watch what Zach Edey and Trevion Williams are going to do to them on the inside. It’s gonna be a damn massacre.

#4 wsconsin badgers vs. Green Bay Phoenix

4pm | BTN

Greg Gard vs. the coach who will, in three years’ time, replace him.

Fuck Bo.

Webb Scores Career-High 25 Points as Titans Drop Seesaw Battle to Indiana State--detroittitans.com

MEN'S BASKETBALL'S MEETING WITH EVANSVILLE PUSHED TO 2021-22 SEASON--iupuijags.com

JAGUARS HEAD TO MUNCIE TO TAKE ON BALL STATE--iupuijags.com

UW-Milwaukee at a glance: Panthers will look to improve from 12-19 record last season--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
UW-Milwaukee's men's basketball team is already facing challenges aplenty--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

11/30 Women's Basketball Players of the Week--College Sports Madness

		Horizon	Brandi Bisping	G	Milwaukee

With an interesting mix of experience and youth, UWM women seek to pick up the pace this season--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Louisville cruises to 86-64 win over Prairie View on Sunday; NKU game at Chattanooga postponed--Northern Kentucky Tribune
2020-21 MBB Preview: Get to know the newcomers--The Northerner

2020-21 WBB: New faces with new goals--The Northerner

No. 25 Michigan outlasts Oakland 81-71 in overtime--Associated Press
Three Quick Things: Michigan turns in sloppy overtime win against Oakland on Sunday night--Maize N Brew
11/29 Big Ten Recap: Michigan Survives--BT Powerhouse

Game of the Night:

-No. 25 Michigan Wolverines 81, Oakland Golden Grizzlies 71 (OT)

Talk about a drama filled evening. Michigan entered this game as substantial favorites over the Grizzlies. However, Oakland’s zone defense gave the Wolverines trouble all night, leading to one of Michigan’s least efficient offensive outings in quite some time. The game eventually went to overtime before Michigan escaped with the win.

The real change in this one came in the second half when Juwan Howard inserted freshman center Hunter Dickinson into the lineup and began feeding the post. Dickinson ended up finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 25 minutes. Isaiah Livers also finished with a good stat line of 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists.

This is one of those games where some of it feels like a warning sign of things to come while other issues make me think it’s a fluke. The most important task for Howard in the coming days will be shortening up the bench. It’s fine to go 10 players deep against bad teams, but it’s another to think you can do that against elite competition. Michigan needs to find the guys it wants to ride with when things get tough. And after Sunday, it seems like Dickinson and Williams are going to be in that group.

Moving forward, Michigan will get a few days off before facing Ball State at home on Wednesday. Like Bowling Green and Oakland, Ball State is better than your average body bag game. Michigan is going to have to work to beat the Cardinals.

Michigan basketball shatters Oakland's zone defense thanks to Hunter Dickinson--Detroit Free Press
State hoops: Here's why Oakland's Greg Kampe didn't foul late in regulation vs. Michigan--Detroit News
'We had to grind': No. 25 Michigan survives scrappy Oakland in OT--Detroit News
OAKLAND DROPS OVERTIME HEARTBREAKER TO NO.25 MICHIGAN--goldengrizzlies.com

BLACKWELL POURS IN CAREER-HIGH 22 POINTS AS OAKLAND FALLS AT TOLEDO--goldengrizzlies.com

PFW game vs. Kent State postponed--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Mastodon Men’s Basketball Game At Kent State Postponed--gomastodons.com

Robert Morris won’t have fans at hockey, basketball games through end of December--Trib Live
Toole Shed: Kahliel Spear and Schedule Changes--Colonial Sports Network

Illinois College Basketball Power Rankings: November 28--Off The Inbound

3. UIC (2-0)

Luke Yaklich’s first season in the West Loop got off to a fun start as his Flames came back from a 22-point deficit to beat Northern Illinois 65-61 at Credit Union 1 Arena Nov. 25. Coupled with a gritty 74-72 win over Central Michigan in the second game of the year, UIC — the fifth-ranked team in the Horizon League preseason poll — is off to a solid start. Yaklich was a great hire for UIC and starting the season with two hard-fought victories is a good sign for his group.

The future looks bright.

Mitchell Named #HLMBB Player of the Week--uicflames.com

Flames Hold Off Eagles for First Win of the Season--uicflames.com

Raiders begin season with pair of games inside Nutter Center--wsuraiders.com

Women's Basketball opens 2020-21 this week--wsuraiders.com

Optics of college basketball different--Mahoning Valley Tribune Chronicle

Nike #HLMBB Players of the Week (November 30)--The Horizon League

Nike #HLWBB Players of the Week (November 30)--The Horizon League

News On The Horizon 11/29/2020

 

Titans Host Indiana State in Second Consecutive Home Game Sunday--detroittitans.com

UWGB women open the season in style with win over Drake--Green Bay Press Gazette
Hibner, Phoenix Power Past Drake Late to Win Season Opener--greenbayphoenix.com

Big Fourth Quarter Run Seals Victory over Braves--mkepanthers.com

Basketball Preview: Oakland at No. 25 Michigan--Maize N Brew
11/29 Big Ten Preview: Rutgers Hosts Hofstra--BT Powerhouse

-Oakland Golden Grizzlies at the No. 25 Michigan Wolverines

• Time/TV: 6:00 PM ET (BTN)
• KenPom Spread: Michigan by 16

This might not look particularly intriguing on paper, but there are some reasons to be interested in this matchup. To start, Michigan looks to followup a quietly good win over Bowling Green earlier this week where the team’s newcomers did quite a bit of damage. And secondly, throwing an in-state rival into an empty Crisler makes this one even more unpredictable. Players to watch for Oakland are Jalen Moore and Micah Parrish.

• Pick: Michigan

Michigan basketball vs. Oakland: Scouting report, prediction--Detroit Free Press
GAME 4: GOLDEN GRIZZLIES AND NO. 25 WOLVERINES FACE-OFF IN ANN ARBOR--goldengrizzlies.com

'It’s crippling': COVID-19 pandemic has financially thrashed college athletic department--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

At places like Duquesne and Robert Morris, the realities are different.

“You know how you solve a problem at a Power Five school? You write a check,” Robert Morris athletic director Chris King said. “You know how you solve a problem at a Robert Morris? You’ve got to figure out a solution. That’s the difference.”

Neither Duquesne nor Robert Morris spends anywhere close to what their bigger in-state peers do — $24.29 million and $18.58 million, respectively, with neither turning a profit — and both don’t rely nearly as much on football to generate funds.

Without exorbitant media-rights hauls, they depend much more on backing from the university itself. As colleges across the country face financial peril independent of their athletic departments, that model has become more fragile. Enrollment figures alone illustrate that fact. Robert Morris had 3,328 undergraduates for the fall semester this year, down 11.7% from the 3,770 it had last fall. Duquesne saw a 4.4% dip in total enrollment. With that loss of students comes a loss of valuable tuition dollars.

Overall, King said Robert Morris could end up with anywhere between $1 million and $2.4 million in lost revenue, with conservative projections indicating a 60-75% loss in ticket sales and corporate sales. Harper said Duquesne has lost about half of its normal external revenues to date. It, too, is hurt by a lack of fans at games, as Harper said the department was previously projecting close to $1 million from ticket sales. When their respective conferences postponed their fall seasons, both schools also lost out on hefty payouts for road football games — $325,000 for Robert Morris to play at Bowling Green and $100,000 for Duquesne to play at Youngstown State, money that goes a long way for those departments.

“There are schools who can weather this despite their hand-wringing, but as soon as the games come back on TV and the machine starts generating the revenue again, they can come back from this,” said John Clark, a sport management professor at Robert Morris. “For the smaller schools or the non-Power Five schools, it’s going to be incredibly difficult.”

Duquesne and Robert Morris’ predicaments are compounded by abysmal timing, with the pandemic serving as a “momentum buster,” as King described it.

Shutdown orders in Pennsylvania temporarily halted construction on Duquesne’s $45 million UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse and cost what Harper said was “basically two months” of progress. Harper said he is hoping Duquesne, which returns almost all of its best players from a 21-win men’s basketball team, will “maybe get some games” in a completed venue this year. Robert Morris, with a new, privately funded arena of its own that opened last year, is set to compete in its first year in the Horizon League.

“When this whole thing is done — let’s say it’s not until next year when we get back to normalcy — when we’re selling ticket sales and corporate sales, did you just lose two years of significant momentum?” King said. “For a school like Robert Morris, it’s crippling in a way.”

King said that for a time, virtually nobody in athletics could spend anything unless he signed off on it. Duquesne has instituted a hiring freeze for positions Harper didn’t deem to be critical and Dukes coaches have made donations to scholarships to support other university operations. However, there was only so much metaphorical fat to trim. Along with having smaller athletic staffs, both Duquesne and Robert Morris had already cut sports in the past decade, with the former eliminating four teams in 2010 and the latter getting rid of seven in 2013. Their departments, as King and Harper said, were about as lean as they could be even before the pandemic.

“That has been offsetting to a point, but when you get to the spring, if we have everything going at once, where fall sports that were delayed are in the spring, it will be chaotic,” Harper said. “It has been a major hit.”

Fundraising, an all-important source of money for any athletic department, has presented problems of its own. Some wealthy benefactors mostly have been unaffected by the pandemic and others, depending on their industry, actually have done better. But with much of the country mired in economic turmoil, many either don’t have the disposable income for donations they once did or they feel less secure about giving it away.

“You’ve got to be smart and you’ve got to be compassionate and empathetic at the same time,” King said. “I think most people that are our bigger donors, they understand the situation we’re in. They understand we have to ask. It’s getting a little more back to normal, but until you start seeing butts in seats, I think there’s going to be a lot of caution from your fan and donor base.”

For all the anxieties about how college athletics will escape its current tumult, there are perhaps more questions about where it will go after that. Can things ever truly go back to normal? And should they?

Administrators such as Harper and King believe there are lessons to be applied from the past eight months. There’s some skepticism, though, about whether larger schools with fatter wallets will stray from the status quo should they withstand the pandemic-induced scare. After all, these past eight months and the ones that follow it may simply end up being, to borrow a tired phrase, unprecedented times.

Mitchell scores 23 to lead UIC over Central Michigan 74-72--Associated Press
Flames Top Chippewas in Home Opener--uicflames.com

Wright State basketball: Sophomore Calvin ready to assume point guard role for Raiders--Dayton Daily News
Archdeacon: ‘Fight on’ -- paralyzed former Wright State basketball player Ryan Custer featured in new documentary--Dayton Daily News

News On The Horizon 11/28/2020

Here's where Indiana products are playing Division I men's basketball--Indy Star

Ball State and IU lead the in-state programs with nine homegrown Hoosiers each. Then it's Purdue (eight), Indiana State (seven), Valparaiso (four), IUPUI (three), Butler and Evansville (two) and Purdue Fort Wayne (one). Notre Dame has no Indiana products on its 2020-21 roster.

CARMEL (2)

Garrett Covington, Youngstown State, Sr.

CLOVERDALE (2)

Jalen Moore, Oakland, Jr.

FRANKLIN CENTRAL (1)

Marcus Burk, IUPUI, Sr.

GARY 21ST CENTURY (2)

Deandre Gholston, Milwaukee, Jr.

GREENSBURG (2)

Andrew Welage, Wright State, Fr.

HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (2)

Mabor Majak, Cleveland State, Fr.

HUNTINGTON NORTH (1)

Sawyer Stoltz, IUPUI, So.

JEFFERSONVILLE (2)

Jacob Jones, Green Bay, Fr.

LAWRENCE NORTH (5)

Ra Kpedi, Purdue Fort Wayne, R-Jr.

MERRILLVILLE (5)

Cameron Wilbon, Robert Morris, Jr.

MICHIGAN CITY (2)

Rob Howard, UIC, R-Sr.

NEW ALBANY (2)

Josh Jefferson, Green Bay, R-Sr.

TERRE HAUTE SOUTH (2)

Jaylen Minnett, IUPUI, Sr.

Green Bay Welcomes Drake for Season Opener Saturday--greenbayphoenix.com

PERKINS READY TO TAKE THE REIGNS--iupuijags.com
JAGS ANNOUNCE REMAINDER OF NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE--iupuijags.com

MKE Begins Five-Game Road Stretch at Bradley--mkepanthers.com

NKU pausing men's basketball program after reporting positive COVID-19 test--WCPO
NKU Men's Basketball Pauses Activities, Postpones Games After COVID Case--River City News
NKU MBB game postponed due to positive COVID-19 test--The Northerner
Men’s basketball game at Chattanooga postponed--nkunorse.com

MOORE LEADS OAKLAND WITH 16 POINTS AS THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES FALL TO TOLEDO--goldengrizzlies.com
OAKLAND DROPS XAVIER INVITATIONAL FINALE TO BRADLEY--goldengrizzlies.com

OAKLAND DROPS HOME OPENER TO NO. 25 MICHIGAN--goldengrizzlies.com

Kahliel Spear’s transfer waiver denied, will sit out the 2020-21 basketball season--Colonial Sports Network

Robert Morris women’s basketball team ready for challenges of Horizon League--Trib Live

Home Debut Up Next for Flames--uicflames.com

@UIC_WBB Continues Road Stint at Eastern Michigan--uicflames.com

News On The Horizon 11/26/2020

Vikings Announce Two Non-Conference Contests--csuvikings.prestosports.com

Vikings Announce Non-League Series Against Bluefield State--csuvikings.prestosports.com

Titans Show Grit in Season-Opening Setback to Xavier--detroittitans.com

11/25 Big Ten Preview: The Season Officially Begins--BT Powerhouse

-Green Bay Phoenix at Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Time/TV: 7:00 PM ET

The cold truth is Minnesota could have been a tournament caliber team last year if they could simply win close games. That didn’t happen, though, and now they lose star center Daniel Oturu. They do return one of the top guards in the conference in Marcus Carr, as well as key transfers Liam Robbins and Both Gach. Green Bay will have a new head coach in Will Ryan and have 11 new players on a roster that will look considerably different this season. They do return Horizon League freshman of the year Amari Davis, though not much else. Minnesota will need to replace Oturu, but Robbins could be a viable option down low. The Gophers should have no problem with a fresh faced Phoenix squad.

• Pick: Minnesota

Gophers open up season against Green Bay--The Daily Gopher
11/25 Big Ten Recap: Big Ten Rolls--BT Powerhouse

-Minnesota Golden Gophers 99, Green Bay Phoenix 69

Nobody was sure what to expect out of the Gophers this season with the loss of Daniel Oturu, but things looked great on Wednesday night. Minnesota got up early against Green Bay and cruised to a 30-point win over a regional foe. Marcus Carr led the way with 35 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Minnesota will be off tomorrow, but will be back in action on Friday night at home against North Dakota.

Turnovers, Marcus Carr too much for UWGB men in loss to Minnesota--Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay's Season, Ryan Era Opens with Hard-Fought Road Loss at Minnesota--greenbayphoenix.com

JAGS BALANCED ATTACK LEADS TO BIG WIN OVER NORTHERN ILLINOIS--iupuijags.com

Newcomers Make Big Impact in Season Opening Win--mkepanthers.com

Faulkner, Warrick carry N. Kentucky over Ball St. 74-73--Associated Press
Three takeaways from NKU Norse basketball's season opener against Ball State--Cincinnati Enquirer
Nelson pounds the glass, Warrick dazzles in debut as NKU pulls out 74-73 win over Ball StateNelson pounds the glass, Warrick dazzles in debut as NKU pulls out 74-73 win over Ball State--Northern Kentucky Tribune
2020-21 MBB Preview: Blend of youth and returning experience could make Norse competitive once again--The Northerner
NKU men’s basketball defeats Ball State in thriller to begin 2020-21 season--The Northerner
@NKUNorseMBB open the 2020-21 season with a one-point win over Ball State, 74-73--nkunorse.com

Norse Men Open Season with Win, Women Fall to Cincinnati--River City News

Rebuilt, talented and deep, NKU women aim for Horizon League championship, NCAA berth--Northern Kentucky Tribune
2020-21 WBB Preview: With plenty of returning experience, Norse have eyes on the prize--The Northerner
@NKUNorseWBB falls to Cincinnati in season-opener, 67-73--nkunorse.com

Xavier v. Oakland: Preview, matchups, and keys to the game--Banners On The Parkway
Xavier beats Oakland by a final score of 101-49 in a belated season debut--Banners On The Parkway
OAKLAND DROPS SEASON OPENER AT XAVIER--goldengrizzlies.com
Big East What To Watch: Week 1--Anonymous Eagle

Wednesday, November 25: Xavier Musketeers vs Oakland Grizzlies (11am Central, FS1) — It’s the first game of the year! Sure, Xavier has a 96% chance of victory per KenPom.com, but it’s the first game of the year in the Big East, so we’re highlighting it here. There’s also a second reason why we’re highlighting this one, but you’ll need to wait a minute. Also, this is the first game of SIX STRAIGHT BIG EAST GAMES on FS1 on Wednesday. If you’re like me and you have a Roku streaming device, please remember to let your device know that you’re still watching every so often so it doesn’t shut down your app on you at an important juncture of the SEXTUPLEHEADER.

GAMES 1-2: OAKLAND OPENS 2020-21 SEASON AGAINST NO. 25 MICHIGAN AND TOLEDO--goldengrizzlies.com

Ready to see Mastodons opener--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Transfers step up, Mastodons win opener in OT--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Pipkins’ Basket in OT Lifts ‘Dons to Win Over Southeastern Louisiana--gomastodons.com

Mastodons Overcome 14-Point Deficit, But Fall to SIUE--gomastodons.com

UIC storms back from 22 down to beat Northern Illinois 65-61 in coach Luke Yaklich’s 1st game--Associated Press
Flames Announce Schedule Change for Saturday--uicflames.com
Flames Stun Huskies in Yaklich Debut--uicflames.com

Flames Drop Season Opener at Eastern Illinois--uicflames.com

Wright State expected to be at full strength to start season--Dayton Daily News

YSU basketball teams trying to remain upbeat--Mahoning Valley Tribune Chronicle

#HLMBB Weekly Notebook – November 25--The Horizon League

#HLWBB Weekly Notebook – November 25--The Horizon League

News On The Horizon 11/24/2020

United States of College Basketball 2020-21: Where every team ranks in each state, from top to bottom--CBS Sports

Illinois

The rest:

10. UIC

Indiana

The rest:

8. Purdue Fort Wayne
10. IUPUI

Kentucky

The rest:

5. Northern Kentucky

Michigan

The rest:

5. Detroit
7. Oakland

Ohio

The rest:

5. Wright State
11. Youngstown State
13. Cleveland State

Pennsylvania

The rest:

8. Robert Morris

Wisconsin

The rest:

3. Green Bay
4. Milwaukee

 

Detroit Mercy basketball cancels trip to Kentucky due to COVID-19 positive test--Detroit Free Press
Detroit Mercy scraps opening three games at Kentucky because of positive COVID-19 test--Detroit News
In Year 3, Mike Davis ready for Detroit Mercy to take next step — with no restrictions--Detroit News
Change To Detroit Mercy's Men's Basketball's Season Opening Schedule--detroittitans.com

Women's Basketball Hosts Xavier on Wednesday in 2020-21 Season Opener--detroittitans.com

UWGB men's basketball 'ready for anything' to start season--Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay Basketball Coaches Show Starts Tonight on WDUZ 107.5 FM The Fan--greenbayphoenix.com
Green Bay Tips Off Season, Will Ryan Era at Minnesota Wednesday--greenbayphoenix.com
With No In-Person Attendance, Still Many Ways to Follow Phoenix Basketball!--greenbayphoenix.com

MEN'S BASKETBALL ANNOUNCES TWO SCHEDULE CHANGES--iupuijags.com

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TO START SEASON AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS--iupuijags.com

Milwaukee Women’s Basketball Enters Its 50th Season of Competition--mkepanthers.com
Panthers Welcome Ball State to Kickstart 2020-21--mkepanthers.com

Horizon League Breakout Candidate: Adrian Nelson--HoriZone Roundtable
How Darrin Horn became the head coach that has Northern Kentucky knocking on the door--Cincinnati Enquirer
NKU begins season against Ball State on Wednesday; Norse seek fifth straight 20-win campaign--Northern Kentucky Tribune
2020-21 tips off for @NKUNorseMBB with home tilt against Ball State--nkunorse.com

NKU, Cincinnati Women to Play Wednesday--River City News
@NKUNorseWBB sets its sights on Cincinnati to open season--nkunorse.com

Horizon League Breakout Candidate: Daniel Oladapo--HoriZone Roundtable
Oakland basketball's early-season expectations tempered by nearly 3-week shutdown--Detroit News

Mastodons to rely on 3-pointers--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Men's Hoops Opens 2020-21 Against Southeastern Louisiana--gomastodons.com

PFW Women's Breakdown--Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Mastodon Women's Basketball Set for 2020-21 Opener--gomastodons.com

Flames Tip Off 2020-21 Season Wednesday--uicflames.com

@UIC_WBB Makes Season Debut at Eastern Illinois--uicflames.com

Wright State announces updated 2020-21 non-conference slate--wsuraiders.com

News On The Horizon 11/23/2020

Detroit and Richmond get season underway in Lexington--Associated Press
@DetroitMBB Prepares For Season Opener Against Richmond--detroittitans.com

Wisconsin men’s basketball: non-conference preview--Bucky's 5th Quarter

Green Bay Phoenix

• Tuesday, Dec. 1st, 4 p.m. CST, BTN, Madison
• 17-16 (11-7 Horizon) last season
• Ranked No. 266 by KenPom
• Leading returning scorer is G Amari Davis (15.9 ppg)

• Leading returning rebounder is also Davis (4.0 rpg)
• The Phoenix graduated four starters and also have a new head coach, Will Ryan (son of Bo), despite their last coach being relatively successful.
• An interesting newcomer is in-state big man Terrance Thompson (6-foot-8, 240 pounds, La Crosse).

@NKUNorseWBB announces nonconference game versus Cincinnati--nkunorse.com

Xavier gets 2020-21 season underway against Oakland--Associated Press

Ft. Wayne welcomes SLU in 2020-21 season opener--Associated Press
Purdue Fort Wayne Men’s Basketball Announces Three Additional Games--gomastodons.com

Robert Morris and Saint Francis to continue season series past 2020-21--Colonial Sports Network